Legacy
by Scribe of Turesa
Summary: This is the story of how I died, of how I lost everything. This is how I became a hero in even the eyes of the humans who saw. This is my legacy. Are you prepared for my tale?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own the TMNT **

**Chapter 1**

I pause in what I am doing, my brown eyes flicking over each and every symbol upon the wall before me.

An algorithm that would change the concept of string theory by massive proportions adorns the walls of my home. It would twist the mere concept of physics in space to nothing that has ever been considered by the human world before.

It baffles even me, and I created it.

I close my eyes and sigh, flinching when my stomach growls.

How long have I been working on this? How long as it been since I last ate?

I honestly don't know, usually Leo would pull me from my musings but…the sudden pain at the thought of my brother's name sends shivers down my spine as my hands clench in desperation.

_Leo_.

Oh God I miss him, even his lectures.

I glance down after I open my eyes and sigh when I see his tattered mask tied securely around my Bo staff.

Alongside it are Mike's and Raph's masks, the vivid colors intertwining as the tails rest on the ground.

I gently stroke the tattered silk.

_My brothers…oh how I miss you all._

**A/N: A Short little snippet of my first real Donatello Centric story, this story will start up after my **_**What We Hide III: Black Shadows**_**, **_**Astra**_**, **_**What We Lose and What We Gain**_**, and finally **_**Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness **_**series are complete (or at least are being updated). But this story might also be updated alongside the others. Keep an eye out for it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own the TMNT **

**Chapter 2**

I sigh as I stand slowly, muscles popping and complaining as I move. Not sure how long I've been working on that theorem but I do know I _need to eat_.

Leo would've tanned my hide, knowing I hadn't eaten for a while.

My fingers trace over the colored silk of my brothers' bandanas as I lean on the staff, limping heavily as my bad leg twinges in pain.

I should've lost that leg.

_It should be gone._

I shudder as the memory flicks for a brief moment in my mind before I force it back into the darkness of my mind.

_Leo's face, splattered in blood, his golden-brown eyes wide and lifeless._

Just for the briefest moment it's there and I moan, biting down on a knuckle as I fight not to cry or slip into a flashback.

As my body stops quaking I begin shuffling forward again until I reach the battered kitchen. Broken cupboards hang open and a pile of unwashed dishes teeter precariously on one side of the sink.

For the briefest moment I hear Mikey's laughter and Raph complaining about having to do dishes before I shake off the memory and start poking around in the cupboards in an attempt to find something to eat.

_Nothing._

I sigh and rub the back of my neck anxiously I need to eat…Leo…

I squeeze my eyes shut at the recurring flashback battering my mind.

Leo was the first to go and suffered the cruelest death. Leo was grabbed on a training run that's the only real detail we ever found out.

He disappeared for two weeks before Raph and Casey found him by pure dumb luck in the back of a trash strewn alley, covered in snow from the recent storm, and starving.

Leo's broken body never leaves me…I can never forget.

_~flashback~_

"_Donnie get your ass out here!" Raph voice shattered my calm, and focus I previously had._

"_What the-?" I growl slamming my fist down as I jerk up from my computer and move out towards the living area, "I'm trying to find-"_

_I freeze for a brief moment when I see who is sprawled out on the couch with Mike rubbing his limbs with blankets covering him._

"_Leo…?" I gasp out in horror before bolting forward._

_I've never seen him so skinny. Then I see his legs as I dart forward and hold back bile when I taste it._

"_Who did this?" I choke out in horror._

_Leo's legs are broken, shattered, bloody and ragged. How am I going to fix this? Then I realize I can't, I can't fix it…Leo will never walk again._

_Leo's weak whimpers snag my attention; his eyes are swollen and puffy but open. He's watching us…me._

_There is dried blood on his face and he looks scared._

_My eyes widen when I notice something and my heart stops._

_He can't see._

_Leo can't see…_

_I lean forward and gently pull my brother's forehead to mine gently pushing Mike out of the way._

"_Leo?" I whisper, "I'm so sorry."_

_His only reply was a whimper and a soft sob and twitching of his fingers under the blankets._

_He didn't make the night, no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried. We simply didn't have the medical equipment needed to help him._

_Blood loss, exposure, broken bones, and starvation, his body simply gave out._

_I was the one who found him and closed his eyes; I doubt he knew that they were open._

I shudder against the wall I am leaning against as the flashback ends and hear myself sobbing as I crumple to the floor.

I can still remember closing Leo's eyes and walking out of my brother's room to tell my family the news. The horror-filled looks and the ragged sobs as we tried to come to terms with losing Leo so soon after finding him again, they never leave me. I don't think any of them trusted me to fix things after that.

After all, I couldn't save my own brother…

I couldn't...fix him...

**A/N: Sorry for the delayed update guys been busy with my book and comic and artwork and such.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own the TMNT **

**Chapter 3**

I don't know how long I lay curled onto myself on that floor but by the time I manage to gather my tattered nerves and emotions I find myself curled in a fetal position (best I can anyway) as I stare towards my late father's rooms.

I shiver, my fingers twitching on the cold cement, before I suck in a painful gasp past the knot in my throat.

I half picture Raph jerking me to my feet and shaking some sense into me as I slowly roll onto my knees so that I can push myself to my feet.

_Get moving Genius, Fearless would've kicked your ass for crying over him._

I hear a half sob-half-laugh bubble up from my throat.

_FOCUS_.

I need to focus, I need to think. _I'm good at that right?_

It starts out as a chuckle and then bubbles up into full on hysterical laughter.

_I've gone insane._

Then with a desperate force of will I cut the laughter off and bury my head in my hands and weep.

_I'm alone._

Then as if someone has wrapped their arms around me in comfort I manage to cease my weeping.

I close my eyes and sigh deeply before struggling to my feet. My bad leg twinges and shakes as I put my weight on it. I flail with my right arm and manage to catch the wall for support.

_Dammit, I HATE this….this…_

Tears well up in my eyes again…Mikey…

I give my head a sharp shake and shudder. No. I need to get something to eat and I'll need my wits about me going topside, especially with how bad my leg is.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot my Bo and the tangled silken masks that once belonged to my brothers on it. I feel stronger then as I lean down to pick it up.

Leo's strength and skill.

Raph's rage and passion.

Mike's joy and speed.

_My family. Their legacy is only what they were…they never had a chance to do anything else…_

Leo? My eldest brother, who knows what he could've accomplished if he had been given more time. He was a mystery to all of us, more intelligent than he ever let on and yet so devoted to tradition, to elegance, to the art of the body. Heck, Leo could've wanted to be a dancer on Broadway for all I know _and he would've been good at it._ Leo was gifted with an almost freaky grace. Or maybe he'd have translated ancient texts anonymously for museums…I guess I'll never know.

Raph? Probably would've cleaned up New York's streets his whole life, getting kids back in school, giving parents their children back, as much as he protested it. Raph _loved_ people, he _loved_ kids. Raph might've opened our home to homeless kids given more time, helped them find the confidence to go back to school, to live out their dreams.

Mikey? He would've been _amazing_. He would've made people _happy_. I honestly think Mike would've become a male-nurse if he could've, despite his random bouts of blank-stares and klutzy moments, the one thing he loved to do was make people laugh. Maybe he'd have been a comedian, but I think he would've been a nurse. Simply because…he could never stand to see anyone in pain, he had to make them smile. _He just had to._

He was never the same after Leo died though…he lost his hero. Mikey's joy seemed to fade after Leo died. He became bitter and angry, my poor brother. He was too smart for his own good, he was the one who figured out who took Leo, _who hurt him like that._ It wasn't Raph who took revenge for Leo's death…it was Mike.

I suck in a breath as my fingers tangle in the masks before steeling myself and walking towards the Lair's battered entrance. It's time I stopped hiding in the dark with my numbers and found my own legacy to leave behind.

After all…I am the _last of the Hamato Clan_.

It's up to me to leave something behind that represents _all_ of us.

A smile twitches at the corner of my mouth; I better start with getting back in shape and finding something to eat.

Then…then I'll do something worth dying for.

**A/N: OMG I updated! **_**It's a miracle!**_** Sorry for the long delay folks I had my Great Grandmother pass two weeks back(God rest her soul), classes start this last week (*turns into zombie*), and lots of artwork to get done this summer(*tapes hand back on*). I have A TON of reading this semester so I can't promise that I'll have updates every day but I'll try to update about once or twice a week (I might become a statue and never move again because I have so much to read).**

***Note* If you cried even a little in this chappie, I accomplished my goal.***

**Love you all! Please review for me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own the TMNT **

**Chapter 4**

By the time I reach topside my bad leg is swollen and painful and I can hardly catch my breath; I'm more out of shape than I previously thought.

Leo would've kicked my ass for getting this badly out of shape and Raph would've spared with me until I passed out. Mike? He would've dragged me out on a running patrol every night until I could keep up.

I laugh bitterly at that thought. Until my brother's deaths I never had the chance to be lazy or to simply sit around.

I've been a fool, in my grief and solitude I've forgotten the gift my father gave me and the passion my brother's and I shared: _Ninjitsu._

When I get home I best start going through things again…Hell, April would've chewed me out for this if she was still alive.

My heart twists in my chest as I realize I stopped contact with Casey…poor Casey…if he's even still alive after what happened. I need to contact him.

I pause long enough to look around before turning towards the nearest grocery outlet. A few months ago it was still owned by a friend of Raph's who would shop for us and make what money we could offer, I might as well see if they are still there. Raph said the guy always left a small bag of groceries on the back step and Raph left the money in an envelope pushed under the door.

As I approach I spot the owner's car and breathe out a sigh of relief, he still owns the place. I fumble at my belt and pull out a few dollar bills, it's all I have, and again I am reminded of how alone I am…

Each of my brothers had their own stash of cash from what they found while out and about or from what they took off of dealers after busting them. I used of Raph and Mike's months ago and I've yet to find Leo's hidden stash. So sadly I only have what few dollars in change and bills I've scraped together from what falls into the sewers.

I check the hiding place by the grocery outlet and find three bags of dry as well as canned goods and nearly weep. It's then that I find Raph's stash of envelopes and mange to push what I have into one. I find a pen and scratch out a note of apology and an explanation before picking up the bags and leaving the money.

I don't even know this guy's name and I've just told him a friend of his is dead…

My heart wrenches before I stumble away struggling to carry the bags and balance with my damaged leg.

By the time I reach the nearest manhole cover my arms are burning and my bad leg is shaking. I have to kneel and gasp for breath as I rub feeling into my arms.

_I am ridiculously out of shape._

It takes me well over two hours to get back to the lair, way too much time.

When I get back I manage to leave the bags of food on the table before collapsing into a chair and groaning in frustration.

In that moment I would rather take a nap than go about getting the Lair clean, feed myself, or start training again.

My stomach growls in protest and I wince.

_Dinner first then._

I sit up and look towards the kitchen befor groaning and letting my head hit the table in frustration.

_Dishes first…_

**A/N: Poor Donnie, hang in there. Short chappie another one later/tomorrow. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own the TMNT **

**Chapter 5**

My hands hurt, my arms are tired, and my leg is beyond sore, but the dishes are done and put away, the counter clean, old food dumped out of the fridge and I finally have a bowl of soup and a mug of hot tea in front of me.

It's some of Leo's favorite tea and for some reason just the smell of the vanilla spice blend makes me feel close to him. I miss him so terribly.

I could use one of his lectures about now as odd as that sounds. _Or at least the motivation that his lectures created._

I laugh weakly and smile before shaking my head as the image of Mike scrambling to his feet to get ready for practice after Leo started lecturing him about not getting up on time pops into my head.

I eat slow in order to enjoy the meal, but mostly so I don't make myself sick.

By the time I've finished my soup and tea I've mentally prepared myself for cleaning the massive expanse of the Lair. I slowly rise to my feet and after setting my dishes in the sink I gather up a bucket, mop, and a few sponges that are still stashed under the sink.

I start in the Dojo and find myself in a type of peace as I scrub the walls and floor mats and as I push the cobwebs away. Each piece of practice equipment is polished and oiled as needed before carefully placed back in its holders.

I finally stand, unsteadily mind you and rather exhausted, in the glinting Dojo with a bucket full of dirty water and sponges and a mop tipped over my shoulder.

As tired as I am, it's a good feeling…an amazing feeling actually. It's the first time I've really accomplished something since my family died.

Then I notice something that makes me drop my cleaning supplies.

Leo's swords they are on the wall, in decorative holders….how?

_I didn't do that…I know I didn't do that…_

My heart is racing, ponding desperately. I don't particularly believe in ghosts, but that is far too surreal. Because I _know_ I didn't put them there.

"Leo?" I squeak out softly, scared to ask.

There is no reply, I never thought there would be but part of me hoped for a moment.

I stumble forward, my bad leg giving a painful twinge before I stagger to a stop. With unsteady hands I reach forward and touch the polished blades, before resting my trembling fingers on the hilt and fighting the sob that forces its way up.

"If you're here bro…please…" I hear myself sob, "I miss you…"

I wait, one minute, then two, and then desperately wait for nearly ten.

There is nothing and a burst of anger flares in me as I scrape my hand against my face to push away the tears.

"Fine," I choke out before turning and limping towards the discarded cleaning supplies and snatching them up as I storm out.

I'm dumping the dirty water and sponges into the sink when I notice something else that gives me the chills.

The dishes are done…the three small dishes from my small dinner…are _done._

"Maybe I…I?" I'm struggling, then finish with a mumble "I must've…my mind is just playing tricks on me…."

I shake my head sharply before putting the supplies away and walking towards my room, I collapse, exhausted, on my books strewn bed once I get there and fall asleep long before I have the chance to be comfortable.

When I drag myself to consciousness the next morning I have a crick in my neck, my leg feels like rubber, and every inch of me aches…and I'm starving.

I slowly push myself up and groan, my arms are trembling from the excursion yesterday. It's almost exhausting just sitting up. Once I'm upright and sitting somewhat comfortably on my bed I rub my face before staring blearily out into the empty expanse of the lair.

For a split second I wonder why I don't hear Raph and Mike raising Hell in the kitchen, or why I don't hear Leo or Splinter yelling at them and then I remember and squeeze my eyes shut.

It takes two long, deep breaths, before I manage to focus my twisting emotional pain into calm determination.

After that I open my eyes and get up, yelping as my bad leg unexpectedly gives out and I crash to the floor in a heap.

"_Dammit_," I hear myself snarl as cramps and pain race up the limb.

I bite down hard on a forefinger as I straighten the bad leg before reaching down and rubbing the cramps out.

_Oh God this hurts…ow…freaking…holy…heaven this hurts…_

Spectacular example of a ninja I am, what a great example of my clan, I'm sitting on my floor practically in tears as my bad leg is twisted up in cramps that hurt so badly I want to wrench my leg off.

Finally my kneading and massaging loosens the writhing muscles and the cramps subside. I let my head fall back against my bed and just slump there, suddenly both emotionally and mentally exhausted.

I honestly don't want to remember that I am the last…that everyone, except possibly Casey, is gone.

_My whole family._

It's as I am sitting there that I remember how Mikey died and before I can stop it the flashback washes over me in brutally cold despair.

_Raph found Mike sitting on the couch, Leo's mask tied around his upper left arm…at first he thought Mike was asleep._

_I remember Raph's scream, the horrified anguish when he saw Mike's blood staining the couch._

_I remember walking out on shaken feet to see Mike's limp form, his chest rising in pained gasps as Raph tried to slow the bleeding._

"_MIKEY! What the fuck! What happened?!" _

"_Mikey?" I remember gasping as I noticed the Foot emblem clutched in his hand on a scrap of cloth._

"_It was her," he choked out, "It was Karai…and…Hun…I got her Donnie…I…I…got-"_

_His eyes fluttered closed and his chest shuddered to a stop._

_Then he was gone, ripped from our lives as suddenly as Leo had been._

_Raph grabbed him, shook him, screamed for Mike to hold on but I remained frozen._

_Leo…and now Mike…within months of each other…_

_They were gone…they were dead…_

_I would later learn that I fainted, that Splinter was left alone with a hysterical and rage filled Raphael and the body of my youngest brother._

_That I failed my father in such a horrific moment…Raph never trusted me again…_

I shiver as I pull from the flashback, pressing my hands to my face as the tears spill free.

God I'm worthless…utterly worthless.

We learned later that Mike took on the Foot clan by himself that he, using Leo's swords, managed to kill over 300 Foot soldiers and nearly killed Karai herself.

Karai lived…barely, but she now carries scars from Leo's blades and Mikes Chucks. She can no longer use her right arm properly and is blind in her right eye.

A once flawlessly beautiful woman is now as twisted as her soul.

It was Mike's revenge for Leo's death and Karai knows it.

For some reason that gives me solace, enough to struggle to my feet anyway.

My door opens and I let out a startled shriek and tumbled backwards, yelping as my bad leg twists under me.

"Good, you are alive Genius," I hear Casey sigh, "Get out here and help me clean this dump up…it's disgusting," before closing my door and walking out again.

_Holy Shit._

**A/N: Oh Goodness I'm so evil to Donnie…also is Donnie being haunted by Leo? Hmmmm wait and find out.**


End file.
